Container opening and resealing device



Aug. 1, 1951 w. w. TROUP ETAL 2,994,469

CONTAINER OPENING AND RESEALING DEVICE Filed Oct. 9, 1959 INVENTORS.Woo/mow V14 77zoup 5 By EFF/e ML Teoup AfTOP/VEY n 2,994,459 CONTAINEROPENING AND RESEALING DEVICE Woodrow W. Troup and Eflie M. Troup, bothof 1701 Wilshire, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Filed Oct. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 845,576 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) Asindicated, this invention relates to improvements in devices for openinga container and then resealing the container, and more particularly, butnot by way of limitation, to a novel zipper-type device for opening andhermetically resealing a container.

As it is well known in the art, a great variety of perishable foodproducts are sold in hermetically-sealed packages or containers in orderthat the food products will be fresh when opened by the ultimateconsumer. When a consumer opens such a package and does not use all ofthe contents, it has been the practice to repackage or wrap the foodproducts in waxed paper or foil, or place the food products in plasticcontainers to prevent spoilage of the unused portion of the products.Many times large quantities of perishable food products, such as bread,cookies, potato chips, etc., have been discarded because improperlyrepackaged, since it is virtually impossible to reseal the majority ofthe present-day packages or containers.

The present invention contemplates a novel device which may be installedon a container or package containing perishable food products during thepackaging operation by the manufacturer, and by which the consumer mayopen the package, remove a portion of the contents and then reseal thepackage and prevent spoilage of the remainder of the products in thepackage. Broadly stated, the present invention may be defined as adevice for opening a container and then resealing the container,comprising interlocking zipper panel means sealed along the oppositeedges thereof to one wall of the container; zipper slide means on thepanel means for separating and, alternately, closing the panel means,and knife means carried by the slide means for slitting the wall of thecontainer along the line of separation of the panel means. Once the wallof the container has been slitted, the package may be opened andreclosed by simple operation of the slide means along the panel means.

An important object of this invention is to minimize spoilage ofperishable food products, and the like.

Another object of this invention is to hermetically reseal a package ofperishable food products after the package has been opened and a portionof the contents removed.

A further object of this invention is to retain the freshness ofperishable food products in the hands of the ultimate consumer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for opening acontainer and then resealing the container, which device islight-weight; simple in construction; may be economically manufactured,and which may be applied to the container during the packaging of foodproducts in the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from thefollowing detailed description, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate our invention.

In the drawings: 7

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view 'of a device constructed in accordancewith this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the zipper panelsinstalled on a wall of a container, illustrating the interlocking tongueand groove used to seal the panels together.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of one side of the zipper slide member.

fiMAW Patented Aug. 1, 1961 2 FIGURE 4 is an" end' elevational view ofthe zipper slide member.

FIGURES 5 and 6 are member.

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view of the zipper slide member illustratingthe construction of the side of the" zipper slide member opposite theside shown in FIG. 3.

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view of the zipper slide member taken at theend of the member opposite the end illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the preferred knife means.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a typical package illustrating theinstallation of the present device on the ferred construction, thepanels 14 and 16 are formed ofa plastic material similar to the panelsof present-day plastic zippers and with the adjacent edge portions 20and 22 thereof arranged in overlapping relation, as illustrated in FIG.2. The adjacent and overlapping edges 20 and 2.2 of the panels 14 and 16are provided with a mating groove 24 and tongue 26 extending lengthwisealong the respective panels and which are alternately pressed togetherand moved apart by action of the slide member 18, as will be described.It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any desired numberof mating grooves 24 and tongues 26 may be provided on the panels 14 and16 to provide the desired seal between the panels when the device 12 isclosed to reseal a package, as will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 3 through 8, the slide member 18 comprises ablock-shaped body 2'8 having a large end 30 and smaller end 32, with thewalls of the body member being tapered from the large end 30 to thesmall end 32. The body 28 may be formed of any desired material, but ispreferably formed of a plastic material to be of light-weight andeconomical construction. Slots 34 and 36 are cut lengthwise in theopposite sides of the body 218 and are shaped to receive the adjacentedges 20 and 22 of the panels 14 and 16. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, thegroove 34 extends upwardly from the large end 30 of the body 28- to thesmall end 32 and is extended inwardly toward the longitudinal centerline of the body 28 at approximately the medial portion of the body. Asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the groove 36 is curved generally downward fromthe large end 30 of the body 28 to the smaller end 32 and is alsoextended inwardly to the center line of the body 28 at approximately themedial portion of the body. As a result, the adjacent edge portions 20and 22 of the panels 14 and 16 will be pressed together in overlappingrelation to interlock the mating groove 24 and tongue 26 when the body28 is moved along the panels 14 and 16 to the right when viewed as inFIGS. 1 and 3. Conversely, the adjacent edges 20 and 22 of the panels 14and 16 will be separated by the grooves 34 and 36 when the body 28 ismoved in an opposite direction. Thus, the slide member 18 acts insubstantially the same way as the conventional slide member on a plasticzipper to alternately seal the panels 14 and 16 together and open orseparate the panels. It will be noted, however, that the ends of theslots 34 and 36 at the large end 30 of the body 28 are separated bothtransversely and vertically, such that the adjacent edges 20 and 22 ofthe panels 14 and 16 will be separated both vertically and horizontallyadjacent the large end I plan views of the zipper slide a 30 of thezipper member. This separation is illustrated in FIG. 1.

A knife member, generally designated by reference character 38, ismovably carried by the body 28 for slitting a container along the lineof separation of the panels 14 and 16 when the panels are separated, aswill be described below. The knife member 38 comprises (see FIG. 9) anelongated, slender body 40 of a size to provide a rather tight, slidingfit thereof in a mating groove 42 (FIGS. 7 and 8) extending verticallythrough the longitudinal center line of the body member 28 adjacent thelarger end 30 of the body. Thus, the knife member 38 may be moved up anddown with respect to the body member 28 and the friction between thewalls of the body 40 and the slot 42 will hold the knife member 38 inany position in which it is placed. It may also be noted that the knifemember 38 extends vertically downward between the grooves 34 and 36adjacent the larger end 30 of the slide member, such that the knife willnot have contact with either of the panels 14 or 16. The upper end 44 ofthe knife member 38 may be provided with a flange in the nature of apush button, and the lower end 46 of the knife member 38 is preferablysharpened to provide a cutting edge facing the smaller end 32 of theslide member body 28.

A typical installation of the device 12 is illustrated in FIG. 10wherein the device 12 is secured along the top wall 48 of a package 50,such as a container housing a loaf of bread. The outer edges of thepanels 14 and 16 are sealed to the top wall 48 of the container 50 inany desired manner, such as by the use of suitable glue or cement (notshown), or by using materials of construction for the panels 14 and 16and the top wall 48 of the container 50 which will become sealed uponthe application of heat, as is conventional in the packaging art. Itshould also be noted that the extreme end portions of the panels 14 and16 are sealed to the wall 48 of the container 50 with the extreme endsof the mating groove 24 and tongue 26 being in looking relation. It willbe understood that the slide member 18 is installed on the panels 14 and16 with the adjacent edges of the panels being in the grooves '34 and 36at the time the outer edges of the panels are sealed on the wall 48 ofthe container.

In use of the present invention, it is contemplated that the device 12will be installed on the container 50 at the time that the container 50is sealed by the manufacturer, with the contents of the container inplace. In this use, the slide member 18 will be adjacent the end 52 ofthe panels 14 and 16 with the mating groove 24 and tongue 26 of thepanels being locked together in sealing relation, except for thoseportions of the panels 14 and 16 contained within the slide member 18and immediately adjacent the large end '39 of the slide member.

When the container 50 reaches the ultimate consumer, the consumerpresses downwardly on the knife member 38 to force the cutting edge 46of the knife member through the top wall 48 of the container 50. Theconsumer then moves the slide member 18 toward the end 54 of the panels14 and 16 to simultaneously unlock the mating groove 24 and tongue 26for separating the panels 14 and 16 and slitting the top wall 48 of thecontainer 50. The consumer may then spread the separated panels 14 and16 apart the desired distance to remove a portion of the contents of thecontainer 59.

In order to preserve the remaining products in the container 50 and toreseal the container 50, the consumer pulls upwardly on the knife member33 until the cutting blade portion 46 of the knife member is above thecontainer wall 48, and preferably within the body 28 of the slide member18. The slide member 18 is then moved along the panels 14 and 16 towardthe end 52 of the panels to provide an interlocking of the mating groove24 and tongue 26 which seals the panels 14 and 16 together. Whenadditional portions of the contents of the container 50 are to beremoved, the slide member 18 is merely moved along the panels 14 and 16to reopen the container and then moved in an opposite direction toreseal the container.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a novel device for opening a container and then resealing thecontainer, which device is simple in construction, may be economicallymanufactured, is of light weight and will have a long service life. Thedevice is in the nature of a zipper which may be easily installed on acontainer during the original sealing of the food products or the likein the container by the manufacturer, and the device may be easilyoperated by the ultimate consumer without any special training. Thedevice will minimize the spoilage of perishable food prodnets and willretain the freshness of perishable food products over a maximum lengthof time.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts orelements as heretofore set forth in the specification, and shown in thedrawings, it being understood that changes may be made in the embodimentdisclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A device for opening a flexible-wall container and then resealing thecontainer, comprising a pair of zipper panels secured in parallelrelation on top of one wall of the container with the adjacent edges ofthe panels being in overlapping relation, said adjacent edges of saidpanels having mating grooves and tongues for sealing said panelstogether when said grooves and tongues are engaged, a zipper slidemember having slots in the opposite sides thereof receiving saidadjacent edges of said panels, one pair of ends of said slots beingseparated at one end of the slide member and the opposite pair of endsof said slots being merged at the opposite end of the slide member, andknife means movably carried by the slide member, said knife means beingmanually movable to a position to extend between said panels into thewall of the container for slitting the container upon movement of theslide member in a direction to separate said tongues and grooves, andsaid knife means being manually movable to a position above the panels,whereby the slitted wall of the container is sealed upon movement of theSlide member in a direction to engage said tongues and grooves.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said knife means slidinglyextends through the slide member adjacent said one end of the slidemember.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said one pair of ends of saidslots are separated both vertically and horizontally at said one end ofthe slide member, and said knife means extends vertically through theslide member adjacent said one end of the slide member.

4. A device for opening a flexible-wall container and then resealing thecontainer, comprising interlocking zipper panel means sealed along theopposite edges thereof to one wall of the container; zipper slide meanson the panel means for separating and, alternately, closing the panelmeans, and knife means carried by the slide means for slitting the wallof the container along the line of separation of the panel means, saidknife means being movably carried by the slide means for movementbetween and, alternately, out from between said panel means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,929,599 Millholland Oct. 10, 1933 2,057,748 Smith Oct. 20, 19362,323,335 Kaye July 6, 1943 2,641,037 Gossner June 9, 1953 2,756,172Kidd July 24, 1956

